February Fool’s Day!

It’s a new holiday.  You haven’t heard of it?  It’s called “February Fool’s Day,” much like “April Fools Day.”  You see, you thought this afternoon was an early beginning to spring – but Mother Nature is saying, “Fooled you!”  Typical New England weather; taking temps in the 50s to a significant snowstorm tomorrow.  Here we go…

Timeline:  Still looking like mainly a 12 hour storm, from 7am-7pm.  Heaviest snow from mid-morning through the late afternoon/early evening.  Still could be some light snow showers into the 8-9pm hour in Eastern Mass, but the damage has been done by this point in the day.  You’ll likely wake up in the morning to get ready for “business as usual” and think that the roads don’t look bad at all – BUT, if you are heading to an office (especially one with no windows) you might be shocked to find yourself stuck at work once it’s quittin’-time.  Best to stay inside tomorrow – take the day off – or work from home, if you can.

Snowfall Forecast:  A broad area of 8-12″ of snow, with 10″+ certainly in the cards for Boston proper.  In Boston, we haven’t had a storm bring us more than 7″ of snow in one day since Feb. 14-15th of 2015.  You remember that?  Right in the middle of the “snow blitz” winter, and Governor Baker postponed Valentine’s Day.  This season’s largest one-day snow total for Boston so far was 7″ on January 7th.  Here’s the updated snowfall forecast map from chief meteorologist Jeremy Reiner:

It’s not just the snow that’s in the forecast, but also the strong wind that’s concerning.  The NWS in Taunton issued a Blizzard Warning for the South Shore, Cape and islands tomorrow.  Remember, it’s not just the amount of snow that is expected that calls for a Blizzard Warning – It’s the snow coupled with the WIND that reduces visibility with blowing and drifting snow.  Certainly white-out conditions are possible across the Commonwealth, but we are more likely to reach blizzard criteria (for 3 consecutive hours or longer) along the South Shore, Cape and islands.

Coastal Concerns:  The strongest wind will be during the late afternoon and early evening hours, with gusts between 45-55mph possible for Cape Ann, Cape Cod, Nantucket and the Vineyard.  However, by this time our winds will have backed to come out of the NW – essentially pushing the water away from the coastline.  With that said, tomorrow we have high astronomical tides… so there is concern for coastal flooding – but the NE wind component is early in the day and doesn’t last for very long.  The high tide to watch will be Thursday morning, around 9:30-10am for most.  A Coastal Flood Advisory has been issued:

Of course we will keep you posted on any and all updates as we head throughout this evening on #7News.  Today in New England gets started a half-hour earlier tomorrow, at 4:30am.  – Breezy